Keep your feet to the ground and keep reaching to the stars!
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Happy New Year!
Our Dessa is turning five years today, and it have been five truly happy years together with our sweet girl. But it is not only Dessa´s birthday - it is New Years Eve. So we do not only want to wish our darling girl a very Happy Birthday, but to all of you a great and healthy 2012!
Keep your feet to the ground and keep reaching to the stars!
Keep your feet to the ground and keep reaching to the stars!
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
My Christmas 2011
I hope you all had a very happy Christmas! Ours was wonderful, very peaceful and with lots of excellent food and drink. Usually we spend the 24th of December at our place and I am the chef in charge. On the 25th my mother in law is responsible for the kitchen, and on Boxing Day my mom cooks and is the host of the day.
Of course we all try to decorate nicely and do our best in the kitchen - and Christmas usually is a feast, not only for the eye but also for the stomach. Needless to say that today I started with light food again to try and get the "too much of everything" out of the system again. Where are the days when I could feast day after day and did not feel stuffed? Nowadays I need a couple of days with rice and veggies and herbal tea to get ready for New Years Eve, when the next festivities are coming up.
Christmas Evening, with me being the chef in charge. I decorated during the week, so on the 24th there would not be too much rush. Our tree is very small this year, but there still was enough room for presents unterneath. And we could not put them there before anyway - I do not trust the cats. And I do not even trust the kiddos when they have the feeling that there might be some toy waiting for them.
I usually decorate in red and gold, my favorite Christmas colours. And honestly: The deco is just used for a couple of days, I do not want to buy a completely new set each year. But I change the details of course, this year it were three white deer in the middle. Oh, you see the starter: Scampi salad with a little lingonberry pastry on the side. Yum!
The kiddos got their presents right after dinner, and they had so much fun! It is amazing how happy they can be when they get new toys - I have seen people getting huge presents not being close to as happy as the kiddos are with the tiniest gifts. They were lovely and had tremendous fun!
Our table at the in-laws on the 25th. The food was definately great, with my favorite starter plate of some tit-bits, salmon, stuffed egg, pastry....
Of course even our canine friend hoped for some goodies to make his way towards his waiting and very ready mouth. Oh well, it´s Christmas, we all are supposed to have fun.
Dessert was Mousse-au-chocolate-cake from Kurkonditorei Oberlaa. Too good to be true. And another day ended with a full stomach and the promise to go on a relaxing diet right after Christmas....
Of course we all try to decorate nicely and do our best in the kitchen - and Christmas usually is a feast, not only for the eye but also for the stomach. Needless to say that today I started with light food again to try and get the "too much of everything" out of the system again. Where are the days when I could feast day after day and did not feel stuffed? Nowadays I need a couple of days with rice and veggies and herbal tea to get ready for New Years Eve, when the next festivities are coming up.
Christmas Evening, with me being the chef in charge. I decorated during the week, so on the 24th there would not be too much rush. Our tree is very small this year, but there still was enough room for presents unterneath. And we could not put them there before anyway - I do not trust the cats. And I do not even trust the kiddos when they have the feeling that there might be some toy waiting for them.
I usually decorate in red and gold, my favorite Christmas colours. And honestly: The deco is just used for a couple of days, I do not want to buy a completely new set each year. But I change the details of course, this year it were three white deer in the middle. Oh, you see the starter: Scampi salad with a little lingonberry pastry on the side. Yum!
The kiddos got their presents right after dinner, and they had so much fun! It is amazing how happy they can be when they get new toys - I have seen people getting huge presents not being close to as happy as the kiddos are with the tiniest gifts. They were lovely and had tremendous fun!
**********
Of course even our canine friend hoped for some goodies to make his way towards his waiting and very ready mouth. Oh well, it´s Christmas, we all are supposed to have fun.
Dessert was Mousse-au-chocolate-cake from Kurkonditorei Oberlaa. Too good to be true. And another day ended with a full stomach and the promise to go on a relaxing diet right after Christmas....
**********
Day three of the festivities. We weakend a bit in the morning, thinking of even more food. But around lunch-time we were ready again.
My mom insisted not to be on any photo, she was busy in the kitchen and we were not allowed to hunt her down. So, while waiting for the first course, Grießnockerlsuppe, we kept ourselves happy with a little photo-shooting. The kiddos were already busy with their lunch - huge bowls with rice and meat. Dessa already starts chirping in the car when she hears that we visit Omi - she knows that she will always get great food there, better than Mom usually serves.
"A rose and star with a view". The star starts glowing in different colours from 4.30 p.m. on. We were a bit too early for that - and when it started glowing we were just too well fed and lazy to make a photo.
The main course. I don´t know the name of the dish, but it is beef, steamed for hours, with a topping of apple, sour cream and cheese. So good, but it takes ages to cook, it definately is something for a holiday, when you are able (and willing) to invest a lot of time into cooking.
And on our way home we passed the house of an "extreme decorator" - we simply had to stop and take a photo. I am surprised that so far no planes have landed in his front yard by mistake. Enjoy!
These were our Christmas days. Now just a couple of days more and we take off into the New Year. Have fun until then, relax from all the Christmas festivities and stay safe and happy!
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Merry Christmas!
Whereever you are this Christmas I wish you peace in your heart, peace in your corner of the world and lots of fun and happyness! Have a perfect time with your loved ones and keep warm and safe.
Have a wonderful Christmas!
Monday, 19 December 2011
Christmas in Vienna 2011
No doubt, Vienna is seriously getting ready for Christmas. Whereever you look it is lights, decoration and festivities. Unfortunately this year life was too busy so far to give us time to concentrate on Xmas preparations, but nevertheless past Sunday we felt "in the mood" and headed downtown to catch a little bit of that Christmas spirit and the lovely lighting and decorations you can find there.
This is what you find at the Rotenturmstraße, the "gateway" into the heart of Vienna (where you find St Stephen´s cathedral and other sights). I agree, it looks a little bit RED and reminds to the New York Chinese New Year somehow, but we liked it anyway.
In one of the quieter side streets you find the Palais Coburg, a very, very posh hotel and restaurant. Of course it is decorated much more elegant, just with white lights - but less is more sometimes, don´t you think? http://www.coburg.at/
This is the Hotel Marriott, located directly on the Ring. Inside all is decorated lovely in red and green, with hundreds of poinsettia, and outside they use a LOT of lights each year. Still very decent and very elegant if you ask me.
Right across from the Stadtpark our Johann Strauss is watching the Marriott, and he decided not to put up any Christmas decoration this year. Why should he? He is all in gold, and all the buildings around are brimming with lights anyway!
"Schani" Strauß also has a very good view on the Radisson Hotel which is located right next to the Marriott. The outside decoration is nice, but inside I prefer the Marriott any time. The Marriott is wide and open with a huge lobby and arcade with restaurants and a grand staircase, where the Radisson is a flight of smaller "salons" which give you a little bit of a crowded feeling. Different tastes, different styles - but please, book me into the Marriott!
This is what you find at the Rotenturmstraße, the "gateway" into the heart of Vienna (where you find St Stephen´s cathedral and other sights). I agree, it looks a little bit RED and reminds to the New York Chinese New Year somehow, but we liked it anyway.
In one of the quieter side streets you find the Palais Coburg, a very, very posh hotel and restaurant. Of course it is decorated much more elegant, just with white lights - but less is more sometimes, don´t you think? http://www.coburg.at/
This is the Hotel Marriott, located directly on the Ring. Inside all is decorated lovely in red and green, with hundreds of poinsettia, and outside they use a LOT of lights each year. Still very decent and very elegant if you ask me.
Right across from the Stadtpark our Johann Strauss is watching the Marriott, and he decided not to put up any Christmas decoration this year. Why should he? He is all in gold, and all the buildings around are brimming with lights anyway!
"Schani" Strauß also has a very good view on the Radisson Hotel which is located right next to the Marriott. The outside decoration is nice, but inside I prefer the Marriott any time. The Marriott is wide and open with a huge lobby and arcade with restaurants and a grand staircase, where the Radisson is a flight of smaller "salons" which give you a little bit of a crowded feeling. Different tastes, different styles - but please, book me into the Marriott!
I cannot resist to add another photo of the Christkindlmarket in front of the townhall. The atmosphere is phantastic there, the lights, the people - I love everything about it. (Okay, not squeezing through the crowd on a really busy night, but yesterday we were just watching from right across the Burgtheater, taking some photos, and it looks just incredible!)
What extremely adds to the impression of the Rathaus-Christkindlmarkt is the decoration of the Rathauspark, all the trees are lighted with various decorations, bows, candies, presents, rocking horses, but we were not able to catch all this with the camera. So instead there is this one photo of one of the arches that lead into the Rathauspark.
And in case you are wondering: All of Vienna is getting ready for Christmas, not just the first district! Here you see a photo of the Maurer Hauptplatz, which is one of the main squares in the 23rd district.
I hope you enjoyed the photos of Vienna in fancy Christmas dressing! I am waving from the lobby of the Marriott hotel and want to end this time with a quote from Dori in "Finding Nemo": Whereever you are in this world and however life has treated you this year: "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Chicken with mustard, orange and honey
And now for something completely different, as Monty Python would say. Today I want to present some really easy and really different chicken recipe to you, which I understand is of Israel origin. It is very simple and combines sweet, sour and spicy tastes, and of course you have to like this kind of combination if you want to try this recipe. We tried it, and it was definately lovely!
And if you have a husband like me who enjoys decorating and preparing the food, then it maybe, maybe comes out looking this way:
The flavour of the mustard really mixes great with the chili and the honey, and believe it or not, the apricots add an especially nice taste to the whole dish. I definately can recommend it! Even my mom liked it.
It was the ideal dish for a cozy Autumn evening at home. I hope you enjoy it! Mahlzeit!
Well then, Ladies and Gentlemen, here we go....
For 3 - 4 persons all you need is:
*) 4 chicken wings
*) 1 peeled garlic (organic)
*) the juice of 1 orange (organic)
*) the juice of 1 lemon (organic)
*) 250 ml additional orange juice
*) 1 large spoon of mustard seed
*) 2 large spoons of mustard (I used a spicy one)
*) 2 large spoons of honey
*) 1 dried chili
*) 10 dried apricots
*) some salt and pepper
*) some olive oil
Preheat oven up to 200°C, peel the chili with pepper and salt and pound in mortar. Then put it in a small bowl and mix with the mustard seed and mustard. Add lemon, orange and honey and stir so the honey dissolves.
Wash the chicken and put it in a barbeque mold. Then pour all the mix over the chicken and add the dried apricots. It should look like this now:
Put it in the oven now for about an hour, turn it now and then and pour the marinade over the chicken. Voila! Now it should turn out like this:
The flavour of the mustard really mixes great with the chili and the honey, and believe it or not, the apricots add an especially nice taste to the whole dish. I definately can recommend it! Even my mom liked it.
It was the ideal dish for a cozy Autumn evening at home. I hope you enjoy it! Mahlzeit!
Sunday, 4 December 2011
A Saturday at the Waldviertel
This Saturday we took off to the Waldviertel, which is the most northern part of Lower Austria. It is a good 2 hrs drive off Vienna, and you can tell that you are heading into some real and serious wilderness that is far off the Austrian capital - or anywhere else that you would call "centre." BUT the people in the Waldviertel call THEMSELVES the centre - and the others far off in the middle of nowhere of course.
The drive there was fun! We went through Allentsteig, a millitary zone, passed a lot of castles and abbeys, and the nature is simply.... nature. True and honest. That is what I like best with the Waldviertel - no fake, no sissy nature - it is the way it is, and that is good.
This is a typical photo of the Waldviertel - my spiritual and childhood home. I have not been there for many years, but yesterday it was like I never left. My roots are there, my grandparents, my memories.... and I am definate: Home is where my heart is, and I want to go home again as soon as possible. (Hear me, Stefan!)
This is Zorro, the actual reason why we went to the Waldviertel. Zorro was picked up and brought to the home of one of our Breitenfurt neighbors, even though poor Zorro was very hesitant. But he is going to have a great home, with a brother and a sister, and in just a couple of days I will definately meet him at the fence and he will be sure that the world is turning just for him alone.
After sending baby Zorro on its way it was very much about time to go for some real food. And guess what we had: Gansl with Waldviertlerknödel (real potatoe dumplings) and white and red cabbage. Stefan and me had been talking about this maior event for weeks, and I finally know now why Juliane and I met at university years ago. (I know we laughed about this yesterday, Tschü!) It was soooooo brilliant, and I had two dumplings (whatever comments might say) and it just tasted like back home at my Gran´s.... Oh Gran, I miss you, and you know that I miss your cooking too...
Fritz, Tschü´s dad, invited us to this brilliant event, and we were very surprised, accepted the invitation happily, and we definately hope that we can return the favour very soon.
Yum, yum. The goose was gone, but a bit of dumpling left...... How was lunch today, Tschü? I have never seen quite as happy people packing up their doggy bag for the next day! I sure would have been happy too, but there was nothing left....
Afterwards it was time to let the kiddos have some fun and to walk some of that belly off. Fritz even gave Stefan his beautifully crafted walking stick - then he gave us his blessing and went home for a nap and some zither practise for the afternoon Xmas market. Fritz is an extremely gifted zither player and teacher, so if you are interested in learning this instrument please send an email to musikkultur@gmx.at. And if you want to play ANY kind of instrument contact him too, he knows the perfect teacher for everybody. (And please for my non-European friends: Do not mix up the Austrian zither with the Indian citar: It is a totally different kind of music instrument. In doubt check the net!)
Hmmm.... should we take off or not? Indy finally convinced us. "Mammy, let´s run, run, run, run!"
Then we went for a loooong walk. The kiddos had lots of fun, and we had fun too, a chance to chat, enjoy nature and soak in the history that surrounded us. Here you see us at the exact border between Austria and the Czech Republik. Years ago, at the time of the Iron curtain, there would have been tanks and passport controls and people with machine guns. When we strolled there yesterday it was just woods and fields and silence....
And you see the man with one foot in the Czech Republik and one foot back in good old warm Austria...
The sun set, there was nobody around and we simply enjoyed the peaceful and quiet atmosphere everywhere...
We walked until the town of Romau/Romava, a little village that was evaporated at the times of the Iron curtain, when the Czech republic feared that this little village was too close to the boarder. The woods have grown since then, and nature has claimed back its territory, but still you see stone walls in the middle of the forest, and a little church that is still cultivated within trees and nature, and a holy mass is celebrated there each year.
We left a message in the guest book and thanked the Romau community for all the spiritual moments that we had experienced there...
Then it was getting dark and cold, and we went home for some relaxing time at the tile stove and lots of tea with milk. Thank you, Tschü and Dad, for a wonderful day! Please come and see us soon!
The drive there was fun! We went through Allentsteig, a millitary zone, passed a lot of castles and abbeys, and the nature is simply.... nature. True and honest. That is what I like best with the Waldviertel - no fake, no sissy nature - it is the way it is, and that is good.
This is a typical photo of the Waldviertel - my spiritual and childhood home. I have not been there for many years, but yesterday it was like I never left. My roots are there, my grandparents, my memories.... and I am definate: Home is where my heart is, and I want to go home again as soon as possible. (Hear me, Stefan!)
"Welcome to Kautzen", the place we went to. Please do not read "Erlebnis Thailand" - we are far from there. It means "Erlebnis Thayaland" - but the fir tree insisted on blocking the view.
This is Zorro, the actual reason why we went to the Waldviertel. Zorro was picked up and brought to the home of one of our Breitenfurt neighbors, even though poor Zorro was very hesitant. But he is going to have a great home, with a brother and a sister, and in just a couple of days I will definately meet him at the fence and he will be sure that the world is turning just for him alone.
After sending baby Zorro on its way it was very much about time to go for some real food. And guess what we had: Gansl with Waldviertlerknödel (real potatoe dumplings) and white and red cabbage. Stefan and me had been talking about this maior event for weeks, and I finally know now why Juliane and I met at university years ago. (I know we laughed about this yesterday, Tschü!) It was soooooo brilliant, and I had two dumplings (whatever comments might say) and it just tasted like back home at my Gran´s.... Oh Gran, I miss you, and you know that I miss your cooking too...
Fritz, Tschü´s dad, invited us to this brilliant event, and we were very surprised, accepted the invitation happily, and we definately hope that we can return the favour very soon.
Yum, yum. The goose was gone, but a bit of dumpling left...... How was lunch today, Tschü? I have never seen quite as happy people packing up their doggy bag for the next day! I sure would have been happy too, but there was nothing left....
Afterwards it was time to let the kiddos have some fun and to walk some of that belly off. Fritz even gave Stefan his beautifully crafted walking stick - then he gave us his blessing and went home for a nap and some zither practise for the afternoon Xmas market. Fritz is an extremely gifted zither player and teacher, so if you are interested in learning this instrument please send an email to musikkultur@gmx.at. And if you want to play ANY kind of instrument contact him too, he knows the perfect teacher for everybody. (And please for my non-European friends: Do not mix up the Austrian zither with the Indian citar: It is a totally different kind of music instrument. In doubt check the net!)
Hmmm.... should we take off or not? Indy finally convinced us. "Mammy, let´s run, run, run, run!"
Then we went for a loooong walk. The kiddos had lots of fun, and we had fun too, a chance to chat, enjoy nature and soak in the history that surrounded us. Here you see us at the exact border between Austria and the Czech Republik. Years ago, at the time of the Iron curtain, there would have been tanks and passport controls and people with machine guns. When we strolled there yesterday it was just woods and fields and silence....
And you see the man with one foot in the Czech Republik and one foot back in good old warm Austria...
The sun set, there was nobody around and we simply enjoyed the peaceful and quiet atmosphere everywhere...
We walked until the town of Romau/Romava, a little village that was evaporated at the times of the Iron curtain, when the Czech republic feared that this little village was too close to the boarder. The woods have grown since then, and nature has claimed back its territory, but still you see stone walls in the middle of the forest, and a little church that is still cultivated within trees and nature, and a holy mass is celebrated there each year.
We left a message in the guest book and thanked the Romau community for all the spiritual moments that we had experienced there...
Then it was getting dark and cold, and we went home for some relaxing time at the tile stove and lots of tea with milk. Thank you, Tschü and Dad, for a wonderful day! Please come and see us soon!
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